Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

These fences are no longer the Made in USA quality the Biesemeyer name was built on before it became part of Delta. Now made in Taiwan! I have owned three Biesemeyer fences before this one, two from before the change in ownership and one after but still made in the USA. They have been of excellent quality, 5 stars all around. When I needed another fence to upgrade a 1960's Delta Unisaw I refurbished, a Biesemeyer was a no brainer, or so I thought. The first fence arrived in horrible condition and had obviously been sold before and returned. The packing was completely destroyed but so shoddy in the first place, I could barely believe my eyes. Well under the required minimum to ensure this heavy piece arrives properly and far below than the heavy packing previously used by the old company. One side panel was cracked across and the other panel was split at both ends at the dado for the plastic edge protection. I boxed it up and sent it back that very same day. Since it had been a brand name I previously had come to trust, I requested a replacement, this time it arrived with only some scratching on the right panel facing from the loose hardware in the box. Not a deal breaker, but disappointing. The real disappointment came when I flipped the fence over and noticed the panels are no longer made from baltic birch, but from regular old cheap plywood with voids and everything. This material is so much weaker and prone to failure. (See attached photos). This prompted me to grab my older fence from my other table saw and compare them. The new fence now has a cheaper, coarse grain, matte painted finish, not the high-gloss powder coating like the old style. I suspect it will hold dust and not brush clean like older finish. Functionally not an issue, but another indicator of lesser quality. The fence appears to be mechanically sound and arrived pretty close to square and it has the same recessed allen screw adjustment. The bolts for the clamp mechanism are too long, not the "just long enough" size like the older fences. The clamp handle has a lot more side to side to side slop, while the older fence has about 3/16" play and high quality feel to it. If the faces were easily replaceable, I would simply give it three stars, put phenolic panels with UHMW skins on the fence and go on about business. The last indicator that this was no longer a company that cared about its products is that while it appears you can submit reviews of their products on the Delta website once you sign up for a long in, that really isn't true. The link to submit a review is a dead link and won't take you anywhere. (The website also says they still use baltic birch for the panels, BTW.) Think I'll switch to the Jet Commercial fence this time. Another case where a big company bought out then ruined an excellent tool by going cheap. Damn shame.